THE BEER NUT: Break the ice with new brews from Sierra Nevada, Samuel Adams

Wednesday

Jan 11, 2017 at 10:53 AM

It's the slow season for most breweries, but two of the oldest craft breweries – Samuel Adams and Sierra Nevada – have you covered.

Norman Miller Daily News Staff @Norman_MillerMW

This is a slow time of year for the beer world.

Before the holidays, all of the winters seasonals and gift packs line store shelves. In a few weeks, even before spring is near, you should start seeing some of the early summer beers in stores. The first couple of months of the year are not the busiest times for new beer releases.

But two of the oldest craft breweries – Samuel Adams and Sierra Nevada – have you covered. Both breweries recently announced several new beers.

Samuel Adams has debuted two new seasonal beers – Hopscape and Fresh as Helles.

Hopscape is kind of an old-school IPA with a twist. It has that piney hop flavor that a lot of people (me included) still enjoy with some good citrus notes added in. It’s also brewed with wheat malt, giving it a nice, light body.

Fresh as Helles is brewed with Mandarina hops and orange blossom petals. The result is a helles bock - a Bavarian golden lager - that packs a citrusy punch not usually seen with the style. It's far from traditional, but super refreshing. It’s the kind of beer that you could easily sit and drink a few and be happy about it.

Both Hopscape and Fresh as Helles are available in the Samuel Adams Spring Variety 12-pack. Six-packs of Hopscape are available now and Fresh as Helle six-packs will be available beginning in March.

Sierra Nevada of Chico, California, and Ashville, North Carolina, has several new beers including a seasonal, two new year-round beers and a new mixed 12-pack.

The Beer Camp: Golden IPA is the latest seasonal from Sierra Nevada. Like the Hopscape, this is an IPA brewed with wheat. This is loaded with citrus flavors with a good body. At 6 percent alcohol by volume (ABV), it’s not too heavy. Like all Sierra Nevada beers, it’s just a really well-done beer.

Also out is Sierra Nevada’s new 4-Way IPA. It features the classic Torpedo, as well as Black IPA, Peach IPA and the German-style IPA. I’m not the biggest fan of black IPAs, but both the Peach IPA and the German-style IPA sound intriguing to me.

Sierra Nevada has also introduced two new year-round beers. First up is the Tropical Torpedo. Torpedo is a popular beer for Sierra Nevada, and the Tropical Torpedo is a new version using two of the hottest hops being used today – Mosaic and Citra.

The hops add a juicy, citrusy flavor that a lot of IPA drinkers are seeking out, over the bitterness of IPAs of the past. Tropical Torpedo comes in at 6.7 percent ABV.

Also new from Sierra Nevada is the Singlecar Orange Pale Ale. The beer is exactly what the name implies, a pale ale brewed with oranges. This is a good, refreshing beer. I tried it this past weekend, and I can picture myself drinking more than a few them by the grill this summer. Cherry is my favorite fruit to use with beer overall, but orange works well with pale ales and IPAs.

Norman Miller is a Daily News staff writer. Email him at nmiller@wickedlocal.com or call 508-626-3823. Check out the Beer Nut blog at blogs.wickedlocal.com/beernut. Follow him on Twitter @RealBeerNut and on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerBeerNut.